Netherlands

Banking and finance: Borrower side

Dentons Boekel¬†strengthened its capabilities by¬†hiring¬†Marcel Janssen¬†and a team of four associates from Baker McKenzie¬† in October 2017. Practice co-head Janssen and Eugenie Nunes¬†advised KKR on its approximately ‚ā¨6.8bn financing to acquire the spreads business of Unilvever. Fellow practice head Jeroen den Hamer¬†is assisting Aroundtown with its ‚ā¨56m financing of four properties for one of its portfolios. Senior associate¬†Jack Schrijver¬†is another name to note in the 'committed' team.

Banking and finance: Financial services regulatory

Dentons Boekel welcomed the arrival of Marcel Janssen and his team of four lawyers from Baker McKenzie¬†in October 2017. Janssen¬†and fellow practice head¬†Jeroen¬†den Hamer¬†advised global private equity firm KKR on its acquisition of Unilever‚Äôs spreads business, and the ‚ā¨1.05bn bond issuance for the business.

Banking and finance: asset finance and structured finance

Dentons Boekel‚Äôs structured and asset finance team was bolstered by the addition of five individuals from Baker McKenzie¬†in October 2017, including¬†Marcel Janssen, who is heading the practice. The group advised DBRS Ratings Limited on the Dutch aspects of a potential commercial mortgage-backed securities transaction regarding a ‚ā¨33m facility agreement between Goldman Sachs as lender and loan seller and Merin Property for the financing of a large Dutch commercial property portfolio.

Commercial, corporate and M&a

At Dentons Boekel, technology, telecoms,¬†and real estate expert¬†Casper Haket, David Griston, and¬†Kuif Klein Wassink¬†are the senior partners in a team that has grown substantially in the past two years. The practice has a strong cross-border practice including in eastern Europe bolstered by its finance and real estate and tax practices. Together with a London team, the Amsterdam group advised KKR¬†on its winning binding offer of ‚ā¨6.825bn for the spreads business of¬† Unilever. The practice also acted for Park Hotels and Resorts on its sale of the Rotterdam Hilton to a consortium of buyers led by First Sponsor Group for ‚ā¨50.4m.

Dispute resolution: Commercial litigation

Dentons Boekel‚Äôs team is 'pragmatic and effective with good experience'. Group head Michel Deckers¬†('calm and calculated and easy to work with') and recently promoted managing counsel Anouk Rosielle are acting as defence counsel to Citco, in the class action proceedings initiated by StichtingFairfield Compensation Foundation claiming damages from Citco for over 700 claimants in relation to the Madoff Ponzi-scheme. Marc Kuijper is 'strong on legal principles'.¬†Femke Jorritsma has left to take up a judicial position.

EU and competition

Dentons Boekel‚Äôs ‚Äėstrong and in-depth‚Äô group 'sets itself apart from its competitors by offering a high-quality team service', according to one client. It has expertise across the spectrum of competition law, including antitrust litigation, state aid and public procurement. ‚ÄėStand out‚Äô group head Marc Kuijper¬†and Michel Deckers¬†('deep experience and analyses'), are acting as lead counsel to 11 Vestel companies as claimants in proceedings before the Court of Den Bosch seeking relief for damages from parties that participated in the cathode ray tube cartel, which has been fined by the European Commission. Special adviser Frederieke Leeflang¬†and associate partner Bram Braat, who stands out for his 'skills in European tenders', are other names to note.

Employment

Dentons Boekel's 'client-oriented and knowledgeable' team is led by the 'exceptional' Eugenie Nunes¬†who is valued for her 'pragmatic, realistic advice and for being particularly effective at resolving disputes'. Epke Spijkerman¬†co-heads the team and senior associate Sascha Kuit¬†are also noted team members. The scope of its work takes in the employment and labour relations issues associated with acquisitions, reorganisations and in- and outsourcing projects and HR compliance generally. Following advising KKR on its acquisition of the spreads business of Unilever, the employment team advised on all the employment issues that arose.

Environment and planning

Team head Jan Jakob Peelen¬†and managing counsel¬†Valentijn Leijh¬†are the key practitioners within Dentons Boekel‚Äôs dedicated¬†group. The team advised RWE, the German multinational utility company on obtaining¬†regulatory approvals and environmental permits for its energy projects in the Netherlands. It is also advising a client on a number of environmental law matters including on waste regulations and on issues relating to enforcement actions by the government.

Industry focus: Information technology

The Dentons Boekel¬†team advises on negotiating IT implementations and software licenses and is especially well positioned to offer global clients assistance on cross-border data protection/cyber security cases. Coordinating work across eight EU countries, the team assisted TrendMicro,¬†a Japanese multinational cybersecurity company on a European project that would enhance its data loss prevention tool.¬†Marc Elshof¬†heads the group that has been boosted with the addition of John Jansen¬†who joined from De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek¬†in mid-2018.

Industry focus: retail

The Dentons Boekel¬†team is highly rated for the depth of service it offers clients, especially with regard to real estate matters. Managing partner Wendela Raas¬†heads the real estate practice; he and senior associate Jeroen de Clercq¬†inspire 'confidence in their expertise'.¬†The 'knowledgeable and experienced' Paul Wanders, Midas Lagerweij¬†and Justine van Lochum¬†are considered 'a pleasure to work with'. The team continues to advise¬†Unibail-Rodamco following its merger with Westfield; assisting on the¬†‚ā¨500m redevelopment of the Leidsenhage retail park, due to be rebranded 'Mall of the Netherlands'.¬†It is also assisting Under Armour on all aspects of the development of its new European headquarters.

Intellectual property: trade marks, copyrights and design rights

Dentons Boekel¬†handles all types of IP assets, including trade marks, copyrights, trade secrets,¬†and domain names. Marc Elshof¬†heads a team which now also includes Alexander van Laaren¬†who joined the team from¬† ¬†Markfellows BV¬†and brings experience in trade mark prosecution work. Acting with colleagues in China, the group assisted North Sea Lubricants on a trade mark infringement dispute in China relating to the bad faith registration of a¬†mark.

Real estate

Dentons Boekel¬†is popular not only for its 'extensive knowledge of the real estate market and very pragmatic approach' but also because 'they are nice people to work with'. Dirk-Jan Gondrie¬†is reported to be 'an exceptional and business-oriented lawyer' and Bas van Schouwenburg¬†is 'also an amazing professional who has great knowledge of his field of expertise'.¬†Managing partner Wendela Raas¬†who heads the real estate team, Paul Wanders, Ines van Dijk, and senior associate Jeroen Le Clerq¬†are also recommended.¬†Altera Vastgoed,¬†Breevast,¬†Hines and¬†Park Hotels and Resorts are among its clients.

Restructuring and insolvency

Wouter Jongepier¬†and Krijn Hoogenboezem¬†are the leading lawyers at Dentons Boekel. The department assists a range of domestic and multinational clients and also act as court-appointed receivers. The team's work includes acting for Breevast on the restructuring of its ‚ā¨700m real estate portfolio. It is also acting as¬†bankruptcy trustee on the high-profile Estro insolvency, which has generated proceedings by a union and former employees and an ECJ ruling on the applicability of a pre-pack procedure.

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Few jurisdictions can boast a foreign direct
investment record like the Netherlands. As the
world's seventh largest inward receiver of
investments, housing approximately 9000
foreign-owned companies, the country's dynamic
business environment provides an invaluable insight
into macro investment trends.

The Netherlands and Dutch law
The Netherlands is a perfect business location for foreign entrepreneurs (2,000 subsidiaries in Amsterdam, 140,000 jobs). It is the gateway to densely populated Western Europe and has a well-developed logistic and technical infrastructure.